2 GT questions - pinpointing and sunray DTI II meter

[JimmyCT]

Well, this is my second trip out in my yard with the GT. First trip was without the sunray DTI II meter, the 2nd was with the meter. First trip to backyard - wow! overwhelmed by multiple tones. `My settings -both disc and notch are at zero, auto sensitivity, iron mask on, slight threshold hum. I knew this was our first date and needed to get to know each other by talking, well... me listening and GT talking. Since I need to understand what was being said, I came to my first tone. Real high tone side to side, then turned 90 degrees and side to side again. little lower in tone but solid. So here I go trying to pinpoint. First I narrow it down in disc, then that didn't do well for me, so I switched to all metal with the other switch already on the pinpoint setting. Soon as I find the loudest point, I turn 90 degrees and repeat. So I thought I "zeroed" in on the target. So I am digging.... then swipe over the area again, pinpoint again. ok I am over the target.... nope. Then I try the top edge of the coil and creeped up on the area until I hear a tone change. Then I turn 90 degrees, do the same thing again. Oh, ok so now the target is over 2 inches to my right. I dig down and what do I find? A single lonely roofing nail lol. 2nd date, same thing, I have a hard time pinpointing with the stock GT coil. Iam trying to figure out where along the "line" is the signal. I read my manual a half-dozen times on pinpointing I just don't get it. I swing real slow back and forth and once I hear the loudest tone, I turn 90 and swing again. Then I really make tiny little back and forth sweeps to really "hone" in on the target but it still doesn't tell me along the straight line where. I suppose with continued practice, I will become pinpointer phd specialist. Where am I going wrong? grrrrr

My second night out I hooked up the Sunray DTI II meter. I dropped a quarter in an area clean of signals and adjusted the knob on the back so it maxes out at 180.
My question is this, when no targets are being detected where should my meter be number wise? If I am not detecting anything, it sits in the negative 495? Is this normal? or did I not calibrate this meter correctly? I do have to say one of my signals on the 2nd night (with the meter) hitting a good solid 170 in just about every direction, so I dug a hole.... a big deep hole. first, out came tin foil, followed by more tin foil, followed by more tin foil. I swept over the hole again and the 170 was still blaring away on the meter and in my headphones, so I dug some more. finally out of the bottom of the mini crater, a big old white bottle cap. So I was impressed despite the sheet of tin foil all broken up into 5 or so pieces, the GT still told me below the foil there was another object.

Thanks for reading and I have read other posts on pinpointing - I just still do not get it. DD coils are much different in pinpointing then a regular Concentric coil

Well.. back to the drawing board this weekend.

 

[ojm bc]

Every one has differant pin pointing techniques, have you tried dragging and swinging the coil away from target...soon as no signal...the target is where the beep faded off.


Another run about way to pin point, and sounds silly but always works, what you do is circle the target until no beep heard, then 100% the target is in the inner circle.

 

[GunnarMN]

I have been prackticing in the farm field, keep your sence at 12 noon or 1pm volume at 2pm in threshold iron mask on ground balanced and keep that in fixed , then hunt what i have found is the nails are imposibble to pinpont in disq, the tips of the nails trow the signal way off center like a malard duck leading you away from its young chickys , if you hear a short pop or zip and it does not repeat and is nulling its iron or a nails to pinpont nails switch into all metal fixed , not pinpont pinpont will throw the siganl off to so keep in fixed , if a nails is laying flat it will give a warble sound then if you turn 90 and its right under the coil it will go silent so turn 90 and get the dubble warble its right in the center and when you pass over it the low loud signal is whear its at now on good targets, as you pass the coin it sings as the edge of the coil goes over it so if you swing right it will ring on the left edge of the coil and vice versa, and i did find that it will see thru foil to a good target even if foil is disqed out good thing go practice in an earea that you can dig up and i would recomend a pistol probe its deep and spot on , but sometimes the tips of nails can really fool you in disq but they usally dont have good repeatable signals

 

[ojm bc]

the 180 meter I would assume copper and silver coins,,would read 180 with copper being a flat distinct noise and not as high pitched as silver.
A quarter would not read as high as 180 unless silver.. basically silver and copper are the two most easy to read, also 140 with mixed results re nickels and gold (same reading) and pulltabs all over the scale

 

[Rick(ND)]

The meter reading is based on the threshold tone you have, so if it is a low tone or growl I call it then the numbers will be a negative number which I find it most of the time. This is because you see more iron than any thing else and it keep the tone of the last target it sees, so it nulls on iron and the threshold will come back a low tone or growl sounding which is a negative number.
On good targets the signal will repeat in the same spot, but iron will not and it when trying to pinpoint will move or a one way signal. Pinpointing you will see is real easy once you get used to it as it is different than most detectors. One way and seeing the target repeats in disc and as you are swinging the coil back and forth over just the target itself which may only be a inch or less back and forth you should be able to bring the coil back slowly and when the signal starts going away the tip of the coil is just catching the very edge of the target, so it will be back maybe a inch on the stock coil from the very tip of the coil. Some times I will do this and see where it shows on the ground, then start moving around the target and see if the tip of the coil still will see it as I then know right where it is. My other way is the 90 degree turn in all metal pinpoint and can hit the target dead on if done right. Go side to side and get the best signal over only the target again, when the best signal is got don't move the coil off that spot and push it to the ground so it don't move, the turn 90 degrees with the coil on that exact spot and go side to side again and when the best signal is got the coil center will be right on the target if you did it correctly. A nail will move one way or the other off center when doing the 90 degrees all metal pinpoint.
I think once you have done it a few times and get the hang of it you will see how easy it will be to pinpoint and check iffy signal doing this same way to pinpoint. Try and put a coin on top of the ground or under a piece of paper or cardboard and practice pinpointing as you will know where it is and see how close you get with the tip of the coil or center doing the 90 degrees pinpointing. You can also see where it reads the best while in disc and trying to pinpoint with the tip of the coil, most of the time it is the tip of the coil or back slightly from the tip.